On Thursday, September 25, 2025, the Disciplinary Counsel filed a complaint against attorney Elizabeth Virginia Westfall with the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme Court of Ohio, alleging multiple instances of misconduct.
The case is entitled “Disciplinary Counsel v. Elizabeth Virginia Westfall,” with case no. 2025-017.
The complaint stems from Westfall’s representation of April E. Lee in a divorce action against Marcus R. Lee, filed on September 16, 2021, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court (Case No. 21-DR-3241). Following the sale of the Lees’ marital home on July 28, 2022, net proceeds of $163,281.40 were wired to Westfall’s IOLTA account at Huntington National Bank.
According to the complaint, instead of holding the funds in trust as stipulated in a July 29, 2022, court order, Westfall allegedly withdrew $135,504 from the IOLTA between August and November 2022 for personal or business expenses, reducing the account balance to $199.73 by the end of November.
In June 2024, April and Marcus Lee reached an agreement regarding the distribution of the sale proceeds, and the court ordered Westfall to disburse $20,000 to each party by June 20, 2024, and transfer the remaining funds to a money market account at Kemba Financial Credit Union. Marcus Lee’s attorney, Alison A. Gill, and later, attorney Ray Critchett, were allegedly unable to reach Westfall to obtain the $20,000 owed to Marcus.
The complaint further alleges that Westfall falsely informed the court and Gill that she had arranged for courier delivery of the checks to April and Marcus. Instead, she hand-delivered a check for $23,000 to Critchett, drawn on her personal PNC Bank account, which Marcus Lee was later informed had insufficient funds. Westfall subsequently wired $20,000 to Marcus Lee on July 6, 2024, after being notified of the issue. April Lee has not received her $20,000 distribution to date.
The Disciplinary Counsel also alleges that Westfall failed to deposit the remaining sale proceeds into the Kemba Financial Credit Union account as ordered. She reportedly claimed to have been in a car accident on August 5, 2024, the day she was scheduled to meet Gill to provide a check for the balance. The meeting did not occur, and Westfall did not deliver the check.
On August 12, 2024, the court ordered Westfall to provide documentation of the sale proceeds in her trust account, but she allegedly failed to comply. The court granted Westfall’s motion to withdraw as counsel on August 19, 2024.
Subsequently, on October 1, 2024, the court found Westfall in contempt for failing to account for the sale proceeds, determining her actions constituted fraud. She was ordered to pay $143,281 (the balance of the sale proceeds) plus $5,000 in attorney fees by December 1, 2024, and to establish a lien on her home in Dublin, Ohio, for $148,281 payable to April and Marcus Lee. These obligations were deemed nondischargeable in bankruptcy court. As of the filing of the complaint, Westfall had not purged her contempt.
Marcus Lee filed a civil lawsuit against Westfall on November 1, 2024 (Case No. 24-CV-009003), and on July 8, 2025, the court entered judgment in favor of Lee for $27,500 to be paid in monthly installments.
Additionally, on September 10, 2025, Westfall pleaded guilty to theft, a fourth-degree felony, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court (Case No. 25-CR-4775), with sentencing scheduled for October 30, 2025.
The Disciplinary Counsel alleges that Westfall’s conduct violates multiple Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, including rules related to diligence, safekeeping property, truthfulness to tribunals, compliance with court orders, and engaging in illegal and dishonest conduct. The Counsel seeks sanctions and restitution, the amount of which is still being determined.
According to Avvo.com, Ms. Westfall is a criminal defense attorney in Columbus, Ohio. She acquired her law license in Ohio in 2004.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
